For the first time ever, the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) and Eurofuel (European Heating Oil Association) will host a virtual conference on liquid heating fuels in a carbon constrained world. Manufacturers of heating equipment, liquid fuels now in the market and potential fuels of the future will share their ideas and what steps they are taking to be ready for this future.
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The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) has conducted periodic surveys to assess the impact and role that biofuels play in the marketplace. Many view low-carbon fuels as the best path for the industry as it reduces its environmental impact. Biodiesel is a low-carbon fuel that is available in most markets, is used widely and offers significant reduction of the amount of carbon dioxide released by heating appliances.
NORA has conducted ongoing research in this area and has found that the transition to higher blends of biodiesel can occur with low costs and little impact on the consumer. A number of retailers have been selling the higher blends of biodiesel.
To verify/validate the lab conclusions on biodiesel, NORA conducted a wide-ranging survey of retailers and service personnel. This latest survey, completed in December 2019 is summarized here.
The National Oilheat Research Alliance has released a new Advanced Gold Series manual, Heating Fuel Storage Tanks, to accompany its Advanced Storage Tank Gold Series course or as a stand-alone study guide.
Written by John Donohue, J Donohue Associates and John Levey, NORA, the new manual recognizes the importance of on-site liquid fuel storage to the homeowner and emphasizes the need to choose the correct tank type, install it properly and conduct ongoing inspections and maintenance.
With eleven chapters the manual covers:
In addition, two Appendices include six evaluation, inspection and delivery report checklists along with NORA’s Recommended Practice for Home Heating Oil Tank Flood Resistance white paper.
Heating Fuel Storage Tanks is available in either print or free digital versions at noraweb.org/advanced-study-manuals
A significant amount of new testing data on nitrile performance in U.S. heating oil equipment with biodiesel meeting today’s stringent ASTM standards is now available. This recent testing shows common nitrile elastomers in typical heating oil burner pumps in the U.S. perform the same or better using B20 than those using conventional No. 2 heating oil. The validity of this testing is supported by elastomer manufacturers marketing B-100 nitrile which could, if appropriate, be used by burner manufacturers. See Technical note here.
The National Oilheat Research Alliance Board of Directors has authorized funds to be spent on various research projects. Under PON No. 2019, NORA plans to award multiple cost-shared contracts in nine categories, up to a total of $350,000 for each award. This funding allocation may be adjusted depending on the quantity and quality of proposals received. There is no minimum project funding amount per project award. All projects will be managed by NORA’s Research Center. Proposals are due August 1, 2019 at 5pm EST.
NORA PON No. 2019 seeks proposals to support the development,demonstration,and commercialization of Oilheat
technologies and systems in the following categories.
(See the actual PON for details)
This funding allocation may be adjusted based upon the quantity and quality of the proposals received. There is no minimum project funding amount per project award.
Biodiesel significantly reduces Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions compared to petroleum. The most comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date lifecycle analysis of U.S. biodiesel produced from soybean oil concludes that GHG emissions are reduced 66-72% relative to average U.S. petroleum
while not trading off food-for-fuel nor destroying forests.
All of this is carefully explained in the report Environmental Benefits of Biodiesel and the Renewable Fuel Standard.
B20 to B100 Blends as Heating Fuels is the title of the newly released report from Brookhaven National Laboratory. The report has been compiled by Dr. Thomas A. Butcher and Rebecca Trojanowski at the Sustainable Energy Technologies Department/Energy Conversion Group of Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY.
The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) recently hosted its Third Annual Technology Workshop in conjunction with the Southern New England Energy Conference on September 24th and 25th at the Newport Marriott, Newport, Rhode Island.
NORA’s Workshop highlighted the research work being done at the NORA lab, NORA sponsored projects, innovations underway in Europe and technology advances of companies in the industry.
With a theme of “finding the path forward” for the oilheat industry, the workshop showcased 15 speakers from the U.S. and Europe followed by a panel discussing where the industry sees immediate and long-term threats and which technologies and initiatives can address them.
You can see each of the speakers and their presentations here
Tom Santa, Santa Energy, Bridgeport, CT, has been the Chairman of the National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) since 2017 with his term expiring at the end 2018. For decades, Santa has been a strong advocate of oilheating research. He was an active participant in many Brookhaven Technology Conferences, with a particular interest in bringing a rigorous understanding of the need for good data to assess fuel quality.
When Santa took over as Chairman, NORA’s Research Laboratory in Plainview, NY was still in its infancy. With very little equipment in place, and with the well regarded Dr. Tom Butcher at the helm, Santa focused on ensuring the industry developed new technologies and a better understanding of the industries’ problems and potential solutions. An active, scientifically sound and well respected lab was vital to achieve this. In addition to Dr. Butcher, a strong team needed to be put in place, preferably young talent. Dr. Butcher was encouraged to develop and work with recent graduates and promising students from nearby Stony Brook University. Continue reading
Once again, the oilheating industry will gather in Newport, RI for a day of technical presentations and discussions as NORA hosts its 3rd Annual Technical Workshop on September 24th and 25th at the Newport Marriott, Newport, RI.
As it was last year, the Workshop will be held in conjunction with the Southern New England Energy Conference which is sponsored by the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association, the Oilheat Institute of Rhode Island and the Massachusetts Energy Marketers Association.
The Workshop will highlight the research work being done at the NORA lab, NORA’s sponsored projects, innovations underway in Europe and technology advances from companies within the oilheating industry.
